[StBernard] St. Bernard Native Gives Back to His Community

[Westley Annis]

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Thanks to the efforts of St Bernard native Andy Piacun, student
volunteers from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law are
currently offering several free income tax preparation sessions for
area residents. The students will be at the Community Center of St
Bernard, 1107 LeBeau St, in Arabi on March 14, March 28 and April 4
from 10 AM – 2PM. No appointment is needed; however, residents are
requested to arrive by 1:30 PM	to ensure that their tax returns will
be able to be completed by 2 PM. 

The idea for the tax preparation sessions arose as a way for Mr.
Piacun, an Arabi native who lost his home in Katrina and relocated to
the Northshore, to give back for all of the help his family received
after the disaster. Through his work with Loyola University’s
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) which has provided
hundreds of taxpayers in the New Orleans metro area with free tax
preparation over the last three years, Mr. Piacun found a way to help
his friends and neighbors in St. Bernard. “Leaving St. Bernard was one
of the most difficult decisions we have ever made. We love St. Bernard
and left so much of ourselves behind” said Mr. Piacun. “Bringing
Loyola’s VITA program to St Bernard this year gives me the chance to
repay a little of the debt we owe to the Parish for all that it means
to our family.	Hopefully we can ease some of the burdens faced by the
folks in St. Bernard.”

When Mr. Piacun pitched his idea to the student volunteers at Loyola,
he received an enthusiastic response.  Law student Stanley Bordelon
was the first to volunteer for the St. Bernard outreach. “The
Community Center's location allows us access to the two areas most
severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina; St. Bernard and New Orleans’
Lower 9th Ward.  After my first visit to the Community Center, I drove
around St. Bernard and was humbled by the amount of destruction the
Parish endured.  All I could think was; how can we not help?” 

The tax preparation and electronic filing services offered through
Loyola’s VITA Program are free and open to the public.	All volunteers
are IRS trained and certified and are supervised by Loyola tax law
professor Bill Neilson and by Mr. Piacun, who is Loyola’s VITA Site
Coordinator and Budget Director at the College of Law. The VITA
Program at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law is IRS
approved and affiliated with the American Bar Association.

In order to receive assistance from the Loyola student volunteers,
taxpayers are reminded to bring photo identification and Social
Security cards for each person included on their tax returns, as well
as any W-2 forms, 1099 forms, Social Security statements and all other
tax documents. For further information, please contact Bill Neilson or
Andy Piacun of Loyola College of Law at 504-861-5668, or phone the
Community Center at 504-281-2512.